In July 2008, the Texas Department of Agriculture shut down pumps including this one at the SunMart #290 at 680 Cullen after investigators said dozens of Houston SunMart stations were cheating drivers out of the full amount of gasoline they paid for.

A Harris County jury has handed down a $30 million verdict against the Houston-based owner of SunMart convenience stores, accused of cheating customers by giving them less fuel than they paid for, authorities said Tuesday.

Attorney General Greg Abbott said gas pumps at 86 stations in Texas owned by parent company Petroleum Wholesale were illegally set to deliver less than a full gallon of gasoline.

Petroleum Wholesale officials denied bilking their customers and announced plans to appeal the decision.

"We believe the jury disregarded tolerances, long recognized by law, and held us to a standard of perfection that neither we nor anyone in the retail fuel industry can attain," said Stuart Lapp, general counsel for Petroleum Wholesale.

985 pumps miscalibrated

The verdict ended an eight-week trial that had its origins in July 2008 when Texas Department of Agriculture inspectors launched Operation Spotlight, which tested more than 1,700 pumps at the Texas SunMart stores. Officials said 985 of the pumps were set to dispense less than a full gallon of gas.

State officials also accused the company of sending workers to recalibrate the pumps before state examiners could reach SunMart locations.

Under Texas law, the state's agriculture commissioner is responsible for regulating weights and measures, including gasoline pumps. Agriculture Commissioner Todd Staples launched the probe after learning that the firm routinely failed inspections.

Lapp said the company has a 30-year track record of serving consumers in the Houston area.

"We have always maintained the highest ethical standards and adamantly deny the company has done anything improper," Lapp said.

Millions in restitution

Jurors were given 48 boxes of fuel receipts, covering more than 5,700,000 gallons of gasoline and more than 727,000 fraudulent sales transactions. They found Petroleum Wholesale liable for almost $19 million in restitution, more than $8 million in civil penalties and almost $3 million in fees to the state, officials said.